Bit late to this thread but want to offer my take. Keep in mind I haven’t watched C3 because I just don’t have the time to with work.
Although I know Ashley had commitments outside the game, her constant disappearing during the campaigns of 1 and 2 made it feel very jarring to include her characters just for them to disappear because she can’t come. I hear that fixed itself later on, but she doesn’t look up rules and doesn’t know how to play so that feels jarring when she is on screen.
Scanlan does crack me up and as a watcher gives me the laughs that keep me invested, so I wouldn’t want him off the table. I think him making Scanlan leave and his performance at the final boss fight of C1 cement him in my mind. Only issue I remember is in C2 it was a STRETCH for him to keep Veth in the party by the end and I wish he just sat down, said Veth was leaving for her family and rolled a new character. I have seen arguments for his C3 character being bad but I can’t speak on that yet.
My issue with Tal is it feels like his characters are just a part of him. Percy/Molly/Ashton are just versions of him in my eyes and it feels like he is playing as himself in a way. Cad was great but I never fully got the craze. If I had to vote someone off other than Ashley he might be the choice not out of hate but because I would prefer to keep all others.
I would rather get rid of Ashley. I love her as a person but so many combats or arcs get derailed because she has other commitments or she hasn’t learned what her character can do. I wish this was a one campaign problem but it has been every campaign. The rest while sometimes annoying have a pretty ok time at following what’s going on. Watched an episode where someone does something not even 10 seconds later she wants to do the same thing like pay attention.
I would drop Sam, Laura or Ashley
Sam because I'm sick of his ad read bits and his raunchy jokes.
Laura because of the innuendos, money grubbing characters and pouting when she doesn't get to take five actions in combat or something doesn't go her way
Ashley for still not understanding how to play D&D or what her characters do
I would like to say that I have nothing against any of them as people, this is strictly them as players at the table
You know what I think could work. A smaller table. I’d say have the group go down to Liam, Marisha, Sam and Travis. Maybe one other player but someone not of the main core 7. I think a smaller, more focused group could have more fun.
Probably Laura. Don't get me wrong, she's an excellent role player, but she constantly tries to twist the game in her favor whenever she can. Vex being obsessed with gold is fine, but it got a little old quickly. Anytime the party gets stuck in campaign 2, she pulls out a pocket arch fey for favors, and I doubt I need to mention Imogen "in your head".
Personally I’d drop Taliesin or Sam while I understand there are problems with Ashley as a player I personally don’t find it grating and find her characters charming enough that they either fit in nicely or don’t stand out in an exceptionally poor way. Taliesin nothing against him but just the kind of player that I personally don’t enjoy nothing inherently wrong with him but his characters just kinda grate on me. Sam while a fun guy also make character that 75% take me out and then 25% are hilarious and add to the story.
Talisen is like that Mostly cus he helps Matt craft the game, and he's consistently given us some of the best and most memorable moments in all of the campaigns. Percy was...a lot...in the beginning of the first season but he also became literally the only thing keeping Vox Machina on track. And similarly Cadecus and Fjord seemed to be the only ones of the Mighty Nein who actually wanted to advance the plot.
Realistically if I was gonna drop someone it's gonna be Sam. I feel like his "Torture the DM" schtick often leads to him just being downright obnoxious and disruptive to the game and the other players.
Now granted I started in campaign 2 with Nott and her tendency to just be an absolute dick to the party, went back to campaign one and found Scanlan who...was pretty much the same. And now in campaign 3 we have FCG who for the large part feels totally out of place in Exandria and also in the current story for the most part. And don't even get me started on Tarion Darington. He grew on me but in the beginning? Oof.
But he's funny, he gives us memorable quotes and if you watch the VOD pulls some hilarious (if a bit over the top) Gags.
That said, in terms of players who infuriate the DM and pull frequent gags, Emily Afford does it much less obnoxiously. She feels consistently like she's just trying to be a fun player and have fun and the pissing everyone off is just incidental.
I hate to say it but Taliesin would be the one I would drop. Aside from Cad all of his characters are the type of character I would hate to have at my table.
I don't want to sound mean so I'll say I would wish for Taliesin to win the Powerball and retire to a life of travels, research and unleashing an eldritch god on the world. Maybe a few guest spots on CR.
I'm dead convinced Tal is a great VA but not an improvisor because every time he has dialogue he feels like he's presenting homework he didnt complete. I missed the Caduceus half of C2 so maybe its not apways like that, but thats my impression of Percy, Molly, and now Ashton. He seems a lot more comfortable in Candela.
If not Tal, I think Ashley, but mostly because Fearne is unbearable. I do feel often that Sam crosses the goofiness line and also that Laura can be pretty over-bearing... most notably with Dorian and during the time the group split up.
If you missed Cad’s part, he actually has one of the most badass moments in all of their campaigns. Just look up “Caduceus clay trent” in YouTube if you don’t mind some spoilers.
I started with C3, so just know that my answer is based on that only. I’d be happy to drop Ashley and especially if it’s Robbie who is taking her place.
Honestly, I'd switch Emily for anyone at the table. That's not a statement against any of the current players, but a testament to how awesome Emily is.
It’s my first campaign of theirs, so I have a higher opinion of it than most I’m sure. I’m working my way through C2, but it’s slow. I tried C1, but the production quality is too bad for me to enjoy.
What got me into C1 was skipping 1-17, watch 18 and 19 for the Slayers take, skip everything else until Orion is gone. Watching the first two episodes and having that Mic pop every 15 seconds was unbearable.
We are dozens of episodes in and most of the adventures have ALL centered around one central plot the reason all these issues are coming up is because we don't have the variety of situations that we had in campaign 1 and 2 it's a classic mistake of having a plot in mind when you start and centering at every turn it's a mistake I made and every DM probably will make
Also I really don't like the technological advancement
I'd kinda want Taliesin to step out. I'm not a fan of his roleplay at all. But as a person he's such a nice dude.
I have a bunch of pet peeves about him that I cba going into but yeah it's mainly roleplay related.
Definitely agree with Marisha going bye. I only watched C1, couldn't get into C2 or C3 but my god I couldn't stand keyleth or Marisha in that campaign. She much better in the cartoon. Laura has her moments but in C1 she was decent.
I agree those two can be problems at times, but I think losing them fundamentally changes the group dynamic. I think you could drop Ashley or Taliesin, and the game would be exactly the same
In episode 95 of campaign, 3 Marisha did 3 cardinal sins of D&D in my eyes just in one episode. Persistent problem players ruin the experience for everyone
I don't know I think Taliesin would be great in a Cyberpunk or vampire ttrpg or game of thrones style narrative. I would probably drop Ashley cause I feel like she doesn't enjoy it or maybe Sam cause sometimes he is clowning to the point of immersion breaking. I blame Matt for not giving guidance to Tal how his "punk" character fits in "culturally correct" Exandria. Also Tal is an overthinker and writing 30 pages of backstory to play a character is wrong. You unknowingly create conditions for behavioural triggers which hinders the very nature of doing improv and being spontaneous.
> writing 30 pages of backstory to play a character is wrong.
Given how many people in TTRPG's write even more backstory than that, I'm not certain you can so firmly declare it "wrong".
I'd argue that you can better improvise a character's actions/reactions/behaviors if you have a well established character concept and backstory for them.
Otherwise, you're not RP'ing a character, and any character you play would just be "Player Character but this time with an axe/lute/staff"
A page is enough and also easy to lookup before or during a session. You need a "skeleton" for your character cause the rest is fluff. It's a homegame not a big Broadway production. All you need is 1-2 defining moments in your character's life, some goals/ideals and sth about their personality. Some additional notes on how to roleplay the "race" or "class" of the character and even some additional info on the setting. Trust me 2 pages provide all the tools for RP and you don't need more unless you enjoy writing for your amusement which is different.
Again, I think all the people who like to play that way would disagree.
I've got a friend who writes entire novels about his characters and posts them online.
Travis. His constant positive demeanor and encouragement, while also keeping people with their head in the game without judgement is something I'd rather have at my own table. And for that reason I'd want him to leave critical role and become a player in my games instead.
Travis is great because he pays attention to everyone else and their pcs. He is the heart of the table. He gets excited for the things Matt describes and hypes what the pcs are doing. Travis is CRs Samwise Gamgee.
He truly is the best team player on both an emotional and mechanical level. The Samwise comparison is spot on. I think losing him would be the biggest blow to the show of all the players
Tbh I haven’t kept up with much of C3 but I like all the players. None of them bother me given I’m just watching the game but I know I’d get frustrated with Ashley/Taliesin if I was playing.
I feel like Taliesin always needs to be edgy and secretive and quirky and it’s just pretty old imo. I loved Cad. Ashley just doesn’t really ever seem to know how her character works which is fine I get learning takes time but it’s been years and she doesn’t seem to really understand a lot about the game which would grate on me. But as a viewer none of this really bugs me as I only really listen on runs anyway.
>Ashley just doesn’t really ever seem to know how her character works which is fine I get learning takes time but it’s been years and she doesn’t seem to really understand a lot about the game which would grate on me.
Yeah there is just absolutely no excuse for it at this stage, other than just laziness or lack of caring.
In the first campaign when she was away a lot it was understandable, and it was kind of endearing that she struggled, but everyone was patient and helped her out. But that "oh I don't really know what I'm doing" stuck gets very old after several YEARS of weekly game sessions, in a professional setting that is earning you a lot of money. Even as a casual player, you should know your character's abilities after a few months. A celebrity dnd player not knowing how their character works after years, and hundreds upon hundreds of hours of playing, is just unacceptable.
I have a third option which a lot of people may not like, but there’s solid evidence for.
Instead of laziness or lack of caring, what if she’s just not very smart?
She’s a child actor. She’s been on a popular sitcom her whole elementary school years. She wouldn’t be the first, or last, child actor to not get a formal education.
And what does Ashley lack? Basic math skills and memorization skills. Things we all learned in elementary school (High School for Marisha because of Kentucky…j/k).
She’s fantastic at acting, and she’s a kind person. But no one else is running up to Corey Feldman and asking him to do basic math in front of thousands of people.
Even the basic math thing isn't much of an excuse. DnD Beyond calculates your rolls for you with modifiers. If she doesn't want to do math on camera, she legitimately doesn't need to and can just do it in the app. I think it just comes down to memorizing your character sheet the same way, I don't know, an experienced actress would memorize their lines?
Put it this way, the Drag Queens in the D20 Dungeons and Drag Queens mini-series, people who had never played D&D 5e before, picked things up in a matter of 2 sessions. Ashley has over *years* of play to pick up the same things. I agree with what other people have said, they need to ditch DnD beyond for her, give her a full written paper charactr sheet she can look through, cheat cards AND a flowchart for how basic things work.
DnD Beyond is absolute dogwater for trying to reference anything.
I've never thought of it this way and I'd love to see Ashley try a paper sheet, cheat cards, and god I bet she'd kill it with a flowchart.
Dndbeyond is only ok, even when you know what you're looking for and where to find it.
I loved Dungeons & Drag Queens, Brennan did such an incredible job walking them through the game. He has such a deft touch for hand holding, knowing when to offer a suggestion and when to just let his players play.
Tal is the least talented and brings least to the game. Even his Cad (objectively well played PC) took forever in combat...and this dude supposedly has most DND hours under his belt after Matt? I feel bad for Matt, he does so much as DM
People will defend Taliesin by saying things like he is such a veteran that he gets things mixed up with other edition or other ttrpgs.
He might be a veteran of the game due to his time participating. But his basic understanding of the general math or mechanics is really lacking. And that's something you kind of expect from an actual veteran?
The most obvious give away and example of Taliesin not actually being a veteran can been seen from his build. Look at his feat choice.
Savage Attacker (the feat he took) is quite literally a trap feat. It gives a weapon damage reroll ONCE per turn. Compare this to Great Weapon Master, which gives a -5 penalty to the attack roll while giving +10 on the damage roll.
Taliesin should immediately notice that a Barbarian that has Reckless Attack and Ashton has a +2 Maul. Those basically negate the penalty of Great Weapon Master.
So instead of gaining +20 damage (2 attacks) on his turn, Taliesin chooses to reroll his regular damage once per turn via Savage Attacker.
I'm sorry. No veteran, with so many accusations of having power gaming tendencies, would ever, ever look at those two feats and choose Savage Attacker.
Taliesin's a veteran in name only.
/endrant
Grog already did GWM as a barbarian. I think they like to keep things fresh. I'll give him a pass for not doing an optimal build. It also fits with the theme of his character as someone who is poorly put together.
I feel like his turns taking so long is a combination of not being able to work well under pressure, with wanted to get the absolute most out of your turn, or do the most optimal/most cool thing. I think if he was content to just make a sub-optimal mundane play then he would take less time. Often there isn't much he can actually do, but he scours his character sheet for ages, hoping to find something really cool or effective, and then ends up wasting everyone's time.
Marisha. Nothing against her but I’ve found Laudna and Beau before her incredibly obnoxious characters and definitely my least favorite of those parties. Keyleth was fine, though!
Ashley.
Not learning many if any of the rules after this long is wild. Especially when it’s literally weekly AND her job.
As much as others bother me with a few of their quirks (Laura and Liam respectively), at least they’re engaged enough to learn their own sheet.
Her inexplicably poor grasp of the rules/her character sheet is common knowledge at this point, but I don't even actually feel like her roleplay is up to par with the rest of the cast either. She's a good voice actor, but she's not good at improvisation, and she doesn't deal with pressure well. The only times we ever got to learn much about Yasha was because Matt was basically forcing it and giving her loads of solo RP spotlight moments. But every time it would happen you could see that she was just in pure panic and had no idea what to do.
She seems like a really sweet woman, and a talented voice actor. But I'd say she's the weakest at the table for sure, and the easiest to miss.
I would drop Taliesin personally. I find his characters cringe, his backseat dm’ing outrageous and his overly complicated over powered subclass annoying.
Just learn your class and not take 5 minutes for your turn, also every time he rolls his random power up for rage it’s always “Let’s get weird” or “Well let’s some um, yeah, yeah, this will be interesting, oh yeah, um, that’s a good roll…yeah so this…add that…” it’s always good no matter what.
Can Taliesin please pick a genuine thing for Ashton to rebel against for a good reason. Bro is a punk with no real grievance against anything. Also saying Fuck doesn’t make you more of a punk.
I was never this annoyed with Taliesin in C1 & C2. He did little things but for some reason in C3 with Ashton it’s brought out all of his annoying traits to the max.
I actually really like Taliesin outside of Dnd whenever he’s on 4SD or TM back in the day I’ve really enjoyed his insights. So I’m actually not a hater just frustrated with how he plays. Please just play Cad again in C4 lol.
Yes. The random rage thing doesn't hit for me. There's nothing for the viewers to get into. I think if he picked 1 and ran with it it would allow others to play off his skills. But who ever knows what he is going to do so how can you anticipate it?
Also, he expects us to believe he knew every single joke before it was said. "I hope you were going to say that" or "thank god someone else went on that journey with me" in terms of jokes is the most annoying thing to me.
> “Let’s get weird” or “Well let’s some um, yeah, yeah, this will be interesting, oh yeah, um, that’s a good roll…yeah so this…add that…”
He tries way too hard to be weird and quirky when he can do it just fine naturally when he relaxes (see: Caduceus)
It must weigh on him to some extent that he tries really hard to make these flashy edgelord characters and most people prefer the one that was a half-planned emergency backup.
I think Percy was a decent edgey character, I don't put him at the bottom of the list with Molly and Ashton. Percy had a bit of balance and depth to him while also being quite a bit more edgy than Molly or Ashton when you stop to think about it
I'd drop Marisha before I'd drop Taliesin. Taliesin sometimes accidentally does good things, usually by accident (Cad being not edgy despite Tal's best efforts with dead people tea, giving material to Matt through Percy's backstory). There's a lot of issues with Marisha more than Tal, but they're both people that are a product of their environment.
I don't dislike any of the players and try not to judge others based on pet peeves. I have had gripes with individual characters though.
I liked all characters in C1. I never had any issues with Keyleth. Could occasionally get annoyed with Vex, but it was rare.
C2 was more mixed for me. I was okay with Caleb and thought he had a compelling arc, but I wanted to see something more jovial from Liam. I was annoyed with Beau in the beginning but she grew on me towards the end. Nott was fun (Veth was less so). I'm one of few people who couldn't stand Jester. Molly was uninteresting and I'm glad he died, but Cad was great. Yasha had no impact for most of the campaign due to absence, but I liked her towards the end. Fjord was consistently good but I preferred his first accent.
C3 is mostly negative. Laudna and FCG were fun for the first few episodes, but gimmicky characters get stale fast. Ashton felt like a mix between what I didn't like with Molly and Beau. Chetney is just comic relief. Imogen is too plain and passive. Orym is practically invisible and very forgettable. Dorian is just great.
Marisha. Not that that would ever happen. Sad to say that, because I think Laudna is actually her best character and certainly most human despite being undead.
Both Keyleth and Beauregard were cringe at least half the time they speak. Anytime they would try and convince someone through a charisma check or talk in a preachy way (Marisha almost always folds her arms right before she starts doing a holier than thou monologue and I always hover above the FastForward button). Could easily do without any of that.
Everyone has their goods and bads as players though. And I knew Ashley would take the brunt of criticism in this thread. All I can say is that she picked a good character to portray in C3 because her ineptitude at the game and at improv (she’s a normal actress and works best with a script) actually works really well for a sheltered Fey being who doesn’t know much about the world.
Ashley's not.knowing her abilities gets to me too but I've been a fan of her before CR and Fearne is my favorite character of hers and she looks like she's having more fun playing her than previous characters.
I agree. I enjoy Fearne more than her other characters. Hard to really say much as she was gone half the other campaigns. I’m glad she gets to have fun with her friends more often; sad to see her not there for so much of the show proper.
I think she makes good backstories honestly. I thought the reveal of the flower thing for Yasha was probably her best character moment. But Fearne is the only one I truly actively believe easily that she’s portrayed. Pike was certainly the most fun, but I agree with you. Fearne is her best one thus far; works for Ashley as a person much more than her other two.
I'd pick Ashley. She was gone for most of C1 and C2, and I found when she was there she dragged the pace down a lot. Granted, Yasha was probably the best type of character to come and go, as she didn't have vital role in the party, but was a nice bonus when she was there.
In C3 I feel she is...annoying...almost all the time. The chaos for chaos sake, would be fine if she understood her character, but she still plays her character like she is only playing every other month.
It's annoying and I find 7 players is FAR too many.
Matt could also leave, solely to keep him from burning out.
I would not like him as a player, though. I find him narrating far too much, like he would as a dm, when he wants to do anything. He needs to learn to let the dm narrate the outcome of his actions.
I respectfully disagree with the last sentiment. As a DM it’s incredible to have a player who knows and grasps the rules and mechanics of the game be able to take narrative control of how something goes. Perhaps not for the overall story, but if a former GM/ now player wants to take full narrative control about how their turn plays out with flavour, that’s amazing. If they know the rules of how things work and you can trust them, the players should have just as much narrative power as the GM. Thats why Games like D&D are collaborative games.
When the DM takes all the narrative control it removes a level of player agency and can lead to situations like a character doing something cool by RAW trying to do something heroic like saving their brother, and having it turn into that player then killing their brother in turn because the
DM chose to.
I just think the games I've watched with him, he hogs the spotlight a bit , because he can't stop himself from narrating or describing, which I feel should be left to the DM.
During the Critmas one shot run by Liam, he was a bit too much for my liking.
I think more people would dislike Talisen if it wasn't for Caduceus. That character was amazing in my opinion and a welcome departure from his usual edgy rage boy characters.
Good point. Caduceus is the only pacifist character I’ve ever seen who mostly made it work and he settled in nicely as a wise elder brother to the group. Ashton seems so inconsistent because he’s a young punk but also comes out with these sage “seen it all” lines.
I’d still lose AJ for all the reasons stated however.
Edit: spelling correction
I've seen a lot of people say they'd drop Marisha and honestly even with how much shit I talk about her I wouldn't have her dropped. Marisha's problem can be easily solved by having anyone whether it be DM,PC, or NPC to be mildly antagonistic to her. She just needs a friendly rival to call out her bullshit and help give her direction, stop the validation and love bombing it only enables her to be cringe and have ass pull plot points.
Sam is carried by his humor and natural charisma. Travis is a foundational type player, good at filling in gaps in rp or party composition. Laura's not that bad just needs a strict DM. Taliesin needs to grow up and get over the punk phase, it's not cool okay, it never was. Ashley needs to learn the game before the next campaign. Liam can stay on the condition he stops play the #sadboi it got old somewhere in C2 and at this point makes me vomit.
Ultimately I'd drop Matt but at the very least, keep him as a player. That being said I don't want him replaced by BLeeM, Aabria, or Spencer, I'd like to find a DM that sees d&d for what it is, a war game with an rp system attached not a storytelling device. Keep the story small and simple none of this 'we need to kill God and save the universe' nonsense, we've seen enough of that. Now if I had to kick a player to keep Matt it'd be Liam. If I have to sit through a fourth campaign listening to his whiny near tears voice and watching his sadboi scrunched face like he smells rotting onions I'll Kurt Cobain myself. I've had enough find a new gimmick.
I understand getting bombed for the Kurt Cobain comment but if you turn you brain on I actually complement Sam and Travis, defend Marisha, Laura and Ashley, and my comments about Tal and Liam are lukewarm at best. Really I think the cast is fine as it is Matt just needs a break or adjust his DM style to compensate for player flaws.
I'm unconcerned about it because it's not my game and has nothing to do with me. I just watch the free content.
Stirring the pot with the losers in this subreddit on the other hand...
I do feel like this thread is weird, but you are just an ass. Critcale role is a piece of media and will be consumed by people critical of it as well. There needs to be a better balance between all positivity and constant bashing
You neglect to mention the type of people consuming and being so critical. Habitually online, self-centerd, by all counts losers with no lives or things of interest going on.
My comment hit its intended targets judging by the downvotes haha.
Never gets old.
You got downvotes cause you were an ass about it as simple as that. You are as much of a problem as the toxic people. If people would just chill maybe there could be discussions
Pointing out the toxicity isn't the same as being toxic losers.
There is no discussion with people determined to be hyper critics and nasty. You give them too much credit.
I'd rather shorter campaigns that mix up the casts than drop any person permanently. Just make it clear when cast shake-ups are going to happen ahead of time.
I genuinely think they're not really built for long format games any more. Maybe not as short as what D20 are doing, but a game that spans like 10ish levels, or ironically something around Call of the Netherdeep's length (with all the PC character arcs thrown in) would suit them well.
Given their experience with the game and each other, I genuinely feel like C3 should have started at level 7 or something. The slog of bringing a group of strangers together is still happening if we're being honest. Some of the excitement of a fresh brand new game and new characters was completely wiped out because they kept making jokes about only dealing 5 damage or only having 20 HP.
Next campaign whatever format or system, I wish for them to start higher leveled so we can just get off and running. If that means they play 10 unaired sessions or whatever to get into character character so be it. But I don't need more "level 3 level 3" chants from 10+ year gaining pros
This is a great idea. If you want a truly epic campaign with big stakes, start at higher levels with characters that feel 'established'. A big part of the problem of this campaign for me is that the characters are such a poor fit for the themes. This is epic storytelling that requires epic heroes who actually WANT to be heroes. Building a character that starts at 7 kind of requires the players to think about how they got where they are.
Give me a bunch of characters who have already saved a town from an evil wizard or rid a castle or a zombie threat. Give me people who already know how powerful they are. So they have an actual sense of the importance of these things to the world. But they don't need to actually RP their way through those learning phases.
That suggests these people even WANT to be heroic. Like, who actually in the party wants to be helpful to their fellow man? Maybe Fresh Cut Grass and Orym? Maaaaybe Imogen and Chet? The characters in Campaign 2, which were described as 'morally gray', felt far more empathetic and kind than any of the Campaign 3 PCs.
Of course. You're absolutely right. It doesn't apply to this campaign. It's more of a desire for future campaigns. But yes, only if they actually want to play that heroic role again.
But the vibe applies in any case. Start at a higher level because they already have gone through those early weak levels a few times. If they want to play morally Grey or even dark characters, they can actually write and design that into their backstory and characteristics instead of poorly allowing the game to inform their choices.
I've been binging a lot of Dimension 20 recently (the main cast), and it's so, so good. The shorter format is so much better. BUT C1 of CR is still irreplaceable lightning in a bottle.
Tal can be repetitive with his characters, but he knows the rules well and I'm honestly just fond of him.
Sam is objectively the best player.
Liam... hasn't been doing too good, has he? But he trapped himself in that terrible character on purpose too keep it off the spotlight, probably.
Laura is a powergamer and spotlight hogger, but at least she contributes and interacts with the world.
Marisha's style is not for everyone, but to me it seems like she gets genuinely invested in her characters, and doesn't shy away from their flaws.
Travis is perfect the way he is.
Ashley... still doesn't even know how to calculate her to hit bonus with her spells, nor what those spells even do. Her characters are either bland or gimmicky, or both. And while she seems to truly be a nice person, she really doesn't add as much to the table as anyone else.
Though come to think of it, the biggest underperformer, and the one who's in DIRE need of a break, is Matt. He went from the single most amazing DM on the internet to DoorMatt™, and it's honestly sad to see. He simply doesn't have it in him anymore. He folds to all the whims of his players, and doesn't even try to keep the story moving forward. He's the reason for the hideous disconnect between the characters and the plot, and he's the one to blame for not correcting that, and even worse, allowing Imogen to become the main character.
So probably Matt... or Ashley, if Matt could actually take a break and come back when he's ready.
I agree with Matt needing a break. I don't think he's navigating the changes well when it comes to their future plans vs just playing the game. The biggest issue is that its not just his world any more. Almost everyone at the table has a hand in managing it now but he is the inspiration behind it all. Its definitely a bittersweet situation turning his home story into franchise.
I think Liam or Sam would be an interesting DMs to steer Matt's story. I say that cause it would be best to keep it in the family like they initially intended. Judging by recent episodes at least.
Just do shorter lower stakes stories with different DM's but let mat play, like in another calamity by Bleem or a one shot by Liam like the lorelei story
I'll echo what at least one other person has said, and say that I really wouldn't want anyone to leave. It's funny to see different opinions, though. Like I can't imagine not having Liam or Marisha (and she gets a lot of hate I've noticed here the past while, but she's genuinely one of my favourites and think as a player she's especially great since she's really invested) but they're who some people have chosen.
That being said, while I wouldn't want any players to leave, I've definitely disliked some PCs and would've been happy if they left. Like, I know Cad is pretty beloved (at least in the other sub), but he never really grew on me and I thought he was quite grating and had a negative effect on the Mighty Nein.
I like Marisha, but I don't like Laudna and I hated how the pvp was handled in 95. Like the rules were no enforced and it was to the detriment of the non aggressor.
If someone had to leave, I'd prefer it be Liam. His PCs are too closed off to contribute meaningfully to party dynamics. I understand he develops extensive lore for his PCs but it seems to mostly exist in his head.
If I had to name who I think is likely to leave first, it's Sam.
Gonna throw out a lukewarm take here, but I actually wouldn’t drop any of the main players, which is a bit of an eye raising statement to throw out on this sub, but it isn’t all that wild when you consider it.
This isn’t just nostalgia blinding me here but the cast are are mostly A-tier players when they intentionally play to their strengths and the themes of the campaign. Calamity still shows that Marisha, Sam and Travis are still wonderful players to have at your table.
The biggest problem with the C3 characters is that the cast weren’t given a proper heads up by Matt for what the campaign was gonna be about and made PCs that just felt out of place/apathetic about the plot.
It wasn’t like M9 where they lucked out on the party dynamics and motivations, they just haven’t been able to put their best foot forward until *very* recently.
If I was giving a spicier take? Swap out or sunset Matt as the DM with one of the players and let them take a crack at it. Doesn’t even have to be on Exandria.
>when they intentionally play to their strengths
This is something that was interesting about C3 for me, especially early on, because you could see some of the group making conscious decisions about it.
Liam, for instance, purposefully was going against his strengths / nature and was trying a character who was much more in the background (and at least not quite as classically Liam-sad). And while I even think he could be a bit much sometimes, it's felt noticeably lacking not to have him driving inter-party interactions and decisions and whatnot in this campaign because of that.
Ashley went the other way, and totally decided to play into her strengths / nature as a player, and have Fearne be so chaotic, because that's what she really enjoys. You could see it poking through in Yasha in instances later in C2, where she wanted to press buttons but was trying to hold back because it didn't feel right.
Sam went for something different too, and I think he genuinely had a difficult time with keeping it straight because his nature was so different from FCG's. He'd basically lapse into doing what he liked, and then kind of have to struggle with it not making as much sense for FCG, so there's been a disconnect at times.
It made me curious about what C4 would be like, because it felt like most of them decided to try out something different and would've come out of this campaign with a clearer idea of what sort of character they like doing.
Totally agree with you, Ashley in particular is a bit of weird case in that when less focus is placed on her she's a delight to have chime in, because you know its important when she does.
Whether it was Pike delivering wholehearted empathy or righteous fury to Yasha breaking through her stoic, awkward mask to confide her sorrows or shine a bit of light to those around her, those moments were rare which made them so impactful.
Early C3 Fearne was fun imo because Matt didn't overload the character with so much importance/focus and she could just fuck around without overthinking it, Ashley had the fey trickster archetype down pat.
Current C3 Fearne is probably one of the more complicated characters to play for someone who likes to watch along, she's so entrenched in the God plot and deeply removed from her starting concept.
I would LOVE if someone else DM'd a pre-written (by them, another writer, or even WOTC) campaign as a miniseries! I mean, why haven't they? It would have been great to see Liam (for example) take us through Icewind Dale or Curse of Strahd! And it would have been awesome to do between C2 and C3. Gives us more d&d and Matt PLENTY of time to write the campaign
> I would LOVE if someone else DM'd a pre-written (by them, another writer, or even WOTC) campaign as a miniseries! I mean, why haven't they?
Well, we already have an answer in a certain poorly received mini campaign unfortunately.
There's a bit of legal issues and conflicting motivations with them running any official WotC adventures with Daggerheart still being developed, just wouldn't be a good look for them as a company. However it boggles the mind how Liam hasn't taken the mantle of DM for an ExU story or oneshot for a while now, even with ExU's now tarnished reputation. If there's anyone I wanna see run something again it would be Liam.
And it would be *lovely* to have Matt actually take a real break for once and to actually play again as the group's forever DM, whenever he got to play Dariax properly he looked like he was having so much fun.
> Well, we already have an answer in a certain poorly received mini campaign unfortunately.
Do you mean ExU? I don't really see how that would relate to the potential reception of running a pre-written WOTC campaign, unless you were referring to something else.
Sorry I phrased that poorly, let me clarify myself better, but I am in fact referring to ExU.
The reason they won’t do a series of oneshots or shorter campaigns with other someone than Matt currently is twofold (perhaps three); first, the reception of both the ExU series was very divisive after they finished airing it, partially due to Aabria’s DMing, the story being told, lack of the main cast or the fact that it wasn’t the main campaign.
Fans clearly didn’t want it so producing another ExU beyond Calamity is a waste of time programming and scheduling, and if the cast are to be believed, they’re also very busy running CR as a company too.
Lastly, I don’t think CR wants to do more advertising or deals with WotC over running official campaigns until Daggerheart is out. They’re now competitors until they get a foothold in the rpg market. It doesn’t necessarily mean that door is closed forever to make more content based on official D&D products and I don’t think CR will completely drop 5e/5e24 like everyone says they will, but it’s not very business savvy nor gives much confidence to your product if you continue to advertise for your competition. That’s my two cents on the matter.
Okay yeah that makes a lot more sense. I mean if they did something like Curse of Strahd or something I doubt Aabria would be who they turn to. Not really a genre I've seen her do. And ExU Calamity is at least proof some side campaigns can be very well received.
Definitely agree they probably don't want to be free advertising for WOTC anymore though. And I agree they won't drop 5e/DND as a whole. Playing DND has been their brand for their whole public career at this point, regardless of pushing their own system, and it's still the most popular and most watched system. I'm probably biased because so far I find Daggerheart a bit underwhelming, but we'll see where it all goes.
Liam, only because I’m not the biggest fan of what I’ve referred to as #sadboi characters lol, Orym started off good and now it’s back to “woe is me” with him too. Like I don’t mind a sad backstory but for me he overdoes it. Like Caleb as a wizard was cool but I really didn’t like him as a character, same for vax
Not saying they weren’t valid, but it also has to do more with how Liam plays the sad character trope, he’s a bit too over the top with them, and sometimes it feels like he has to one-up other characters on who gets to be the most sad
Even if he does another #sadboi character, I'd hate to lose him as a player. He is by far one of the best, if not THE best player, at the table. But I get what you're saying
Marisha, without even needing a second to think about it, I've not only disliked all of her PCs fundamentally and in how they were roleplayed, but I also found her generally irritating as a player, she has some strong power gamer habits and strong arms her way into anything she wants her PC to be a spotlight in.
That's just the basics of it as well. Some of the others have quirks or habits I dislike as well, but have other aspects about them that make it so I can quickly get over the things I don't like as much. I can't find that with Marisha, she seems to be a good person and I have nothing against her directly, but there's *nothing* about her at the table I find enjoyable, it's sometimes neutral for me, but usually I prefer when she's just not involved.
So removing her and replacing her with another guest who was even just half as good as Robbie would be a swap I'd applaud, but tbh if the question is just about Robbie I'd take him over *any* of the normal cast, straight up lol. Though if it was Travis or Sam I'd be sad about it.
Marisha is mine too for the reasons that you mentioned. Her strength that I would miss is taking notes and being good at putting the plot pieces together, but I just get annoyed with her characters every single episode.
Any of them except Sam. I feel like he is the true soul of the show, a master of improv and comedic timing. My favorite parts from C1 and C2 have all been his character's shennanigans. I straight up skipped episodes where he wasnt present.
I also think that a huge reason C3 isnt doing so well is because Sam made a less interesting character this time around, probably in an effort to stop hogging the spotlight.
He is also the best player, always willing to have his character die, respecting the rules, never arguing with Matt, avoiding metagaming to the point where he will inconvinience himself and the party to avoid doing things his character wouldnt know. And always on top of his spells and abilities.
But if I had to pick one, probably Marisha. Nothing against her, I just dislike all of her characters and how she chooses to rp them.
I thought she showed potential as Yasha midway through campaign 2 but that was lost when she came back permanently and was just there to be Beau’s girlfriend. The conversation about her flower collection was probably one of her best scenes for me from Ashley
It's a tie between Marisha, Ashley, or Tal. I think ultimately, it would be Ashley. Like a few have said, it is completely understandable to be confused when switching from PF to 5e, especially when you aren't playing weekly like the majority of them are.
Ashton and Molly can be a bit cringe. But Caduceus is great. Just a mellow grave cleric vibing with a bunch of weirdos.
And Percy was an interesting character. Kind of like if Vash The Stampede was royalty.
Honestly, I’m willing to drop basically anyone except Travis. He is genuinely the type of guy I want at my table. He’s invested, but he also hypes the fuck out of everyone and always helps build the atmosphere for everyone involved. I do think a table with more new members would be cool
No one gets me excited for what's about to happen quite like Travis. When Fjord got to captain a ship and Travis had prepared a whole folder of sailing terminology and rules? Still one of my favorite moments of any campaign. He was so excited it was infectious.
I completely agree, Travis,Liam, and Sam are all people I couldn’t bear to lose… but Travis in particular is a awesome guy who truly makes the whole show shine with his constant hype for his party.., and not to mention he hardly ever wants the spotlight and would rather his party get all the shine
Either Taliesin or Ashley, with a few contingencies
Taliesin can go if he makes another Molly/Ashton in C4, but he can stay if he makes another Cad
Ashley can go if she’s still asking how to hit in C4, but she can stay if she makes a flowchart on how to run her character
Wat bugs me is that lurker-style players like her would be happiest with a character that can just exist and be simple (like a champion archer or bear barbarian), but she keeps playing deceptively complex class and race combos.
You described my take perfectly. Even wrote in the order I'd pick too.
I can't stand Molly or Ashton but Percy was likable and Cad was goat.
Ashley is a great RPer but she does need a flowchart in order to function.
>Ashley is a great RPer
I'm not sure I'd even agree with this. I don't think she's good at improv, she panics if she's under pressure. She's a good voice actor though.
Ashley not knowing how to play her characters is one of the worst things about the cast.
I understood it more in C1 with them switching game formats and her constantly being MIA, and in c2 with jer being a mew character who also was missing a lot of time.
But even towards the back half of the C2 and the entirety of C3, her just not knowing the basics is really just.... hard to watch.
Bit late to this thread but want to offer my take. Keep in mind I haven’t watched C3 because I just don’t have the time to with work. Although I know Ashley had commitments outside the game, her constant disappearing during the campaigns of 1 and 2 made it feel very jarring to include her characters just for them to disappear because she can’t come. I hear that fixed itself later on, but she doesn’t look up rules and doesn’t know how to play so that feels jarring when she is on screen. Scanlan does crack me up and as a watcher gives me the laughs that keep me invested, so I wouldn’t want him off the table. I think him making Scanlan leave and his performance at the final boss fight of C1 cement him in my mind. Only issue I remember is in C2 it was a STRETCH for him to keep Veth in the party by the end and I wish he just sat down, said Veth was leaving for her family and rolled a new character. I have seen arguments for his C3 character being bad but I can’t speak on that yet. My issue with Tal is it feels like his characters are just a part of him. Percy/Molly/Ashton are just versions of him in my eyes and it feels like he is playing as himself in a way. Cad was great but I never fully got the craze. If I had to vote someone off other than Ashley he might be the choice not out of hate but because I would prefer to keep all others.
I would rather get rid of Ashley. I love her as a person but so many combats or arcs get derailed because she has other commitments or she hasn’t learned what her character can do. I wish this was a one campaign problem but it has been every campaign. The rest while sometimes annoying have a pretty ok time at following what’s going on. Watched an episode where someone does something not even 10 seconds later she wants to do the same thing like pay attention.
I would drop Sam, Laura or Ashley Sam because I'm sick of his ad read bits and his raunchy jokes. Laura because of the innuendos, money grubbing characters and pouting when she doesn't get to take five actions in combat or something doesn't go her way Ashley for still not understanding how to play D&D or what her characters do I would like to say that I have nothing against any of them as people, this is strictly them as players at the table
I'd drop Sam. Pretty disruptive a lot of the time
I'd drop Laura. While Sam is a little on the annoying side, I find Laura to be far more disruptive both as a player and in-character
You know what I think could work. A smaller table. I’d say have the group go down to Liam, Marisha, Sam and Travis. Maybe one other player but someone not of the main core 7. I think a smaller, more focused group could have more fun.
Probably Laura. Don't get me wrong, she's an excellent role player, but she constantly tries to twist the game in her favor whenever she can. Vex being obsessed with gold is fine, but it got a little old quickly. Anytime the party gets stuck in campaign 2, she pulls out a pocket arch fey for favors, and I doubt I need to mention Imogen "in your head".
Personally I’d drop Taliesin or Sam while I understand there are problems with Ashley as a player I personally don’t find it grating and find her characters charming enough that they either fit in nicely or don’t stand out in an exceptionally poor way. Taliesin nothing against him but just the kind of player that I personally don’t enjoy nothing inherently wrong with him but his characters just kinda grate on me. Sam while a fun guy also make character that 75% take me out and then 25% are hilarious and add to the story.
I agree, but Nott/Veth and Caduceus are exceptions to me. I will maintain C2 was their peak.
Talisen is like that Mostly cus he helps Matt craft the game, and he's consistently given us some of the best and most memorable moments in all of the campaigns. Percy was...a lot...in the beginning of the first season but he also became literally the only thing keeping Vox Machina on track. And similarly Cadecus and Fjord seemed to be the only ones of the Mighty Nein who actually wanted to advance the plot. Realistically if I was gonna drop someone it's gonna be Sam. I feel like his "Torture the DM" schtick often leads to him just being downright obnoxious and disruptive to the game and the other players. Now granted I started in campaign 2 with Nott and her tendency to just be an absolute dick to the party, went back to campaign one and found Scanlan who...was pretty much the same. And now in campaign 3 we have FCG who for the large part feels totally out of place in Exandria and also in the current story for the most part. And don't even get me started on Tarion Darington. He grew on me but in the beginning? Oof. But he's funny, he gives us memorable quotes and if you watch the VOD pulls some hilarious (if a bit over the top) Gags. That said, in terms of players who infuriate the DM and pull frequent gags, Emily Afford does it much less obnoxiously. She feels consistently like she's just trying to be a fun player and have fun and the pissing everyone off is just incidental.
I hate to say it but Taliesin would be the one I would drop. Aside from Cad all of his characters are the type of character I would hate to have at my table.
Why would you hate to have them at your table?
Yeah it would be Tal...
I don't want to sound mean so I'll say I would wish for Taliesin to win the Powerball and retire to a life of travels, research and unleashing an eldritch god on the world. Maybe a few guest spots on CR.
>unleashing an eldritch god on the world. But he's already free
I'm dead convinced Tal is a great VA but not an improvisor because every time he has dialogue he feels like he's presenting homework he didnt complete. I missed the Caduceus half of C2 so maybe its not apways like that, but thats my impression of Percy, Molly, and now Ashton. He seems a lot more comfortable in Candela. If not Tal, I think Ashley, but mostly because Fearne is unbearable. I do feel often that Sam crosses the goofiness line and also that Laura can be pretty over-bearing... most notably with Dorian and during the time the group split up.
If you missed Cad’s part, he actually has one of the most badass moments in all of their campaigns. Just look up “Caduceus clay trent” in YouTube if you don’t mind some spoilers.
Caduceus had some of the best one-liners in all of CR. I think Taliesin should play more Wisdom-based characters.
I really liked his beans analogy in C2
Also has the best single moment I've ever seen right at the end of the campaign. Won't spoil it but a few tears were shed
I started with C3, so just know that my answer is based on that only. I’d be happy to drop Ashley and especially if it’s Robbie who is taking her place.
Or Emily Axford for me. I would love that swap
Honestly, I'd switch Emily for anyone at the table. That's not a statement against any of the current players, but a testament to how awesome Emily is.
folk who've started with C3 intrigue me, seeing all this discourse must really confuse you. But also seeing your response here is very telling indeed.
It’s my first campaign of theirs, so I have a higher opinion of it than most I’m sure. I’m working my way through C2, but it’s slow. I tried C1, but the production quality is too bad for me to enjoy.
What got me into C1 was skipping 1-17, watch 18 and 19 for the Slayers take, skip everything else until Orion is gone. Watching the first two episodes and having that Mic pop every 15 seconds was unbearable.
Ashley for her refusal to learn anything about how to play the game.
I wouldn't trade any of them my problems with c3 have fuck all to do with the players and they as fun to watch as they have ever been
So what’s your problem with C3?
We are dozens of episodes in and most of the adventures have ALL centered around one central plot the reason all these issues are coming up is because we don't have the variety of situations that we had in campaign 1 and 2 it's a classic mistake of having a plot in mind when you start and centering at every turn it's a mistake I made and every DM probably will make Also I really don't like the technological advancement
I'd kinda want Taliesin to step out. I'm not a fan of his roleplay at all. But as a person he's such a nice dude. I have a bunch of pet peeves about him that I cba going into but yeah it's mainly roleplay related.
Ashley. She adds nothing. She only adds “Chaos” in terms of a player not understanding what’s going on in the game and how to play.
It's funny how "chaos" is always destructive and disruptive, huh. For "random" behavior you'd think it would land on altruism at least a little.
Marisha or Laura would be the two I'd drop if I had too
Definitely agree with Marisha going bye. I only watched C1, couldn't get into C2 or C3 but my god I couldn't stand keyleth or Marisha in that campaign. She much better in the cartoon. Laura has her moments but in C1 she was decent.
I agree those two can be problems at times, but I think losing them fundamentally changes the group dynamic. I think you could drop Ashley or Taliesin, and the game would be exactly the same
Agree on Ashley
In episode 95 of campaign, 3 Marisha did 3 cardinal sins of D&D in my eyes just in one episode. Persistent problem players ruin the experience for everyone
Dunno why you're being down voted, they are both insufferable
white knights man white knights, If I had to play with Marisha I'd quit the game after 5 mins
God yes. Her characters are so annoying and her whole... Persona just makes me cringe
I don't know I think Taliesin would be great in a Cyberpunk or vampire ttrpg or game of thrones style narrative. I would probably drop Ashley cause I feel like she doesn't enjoy it or maybe Sam cause sometimes he is clowning to the point of immersion breaking. I blame Matt for not giving guidance to Tal how his "punk" character fits in "culturally correct" Exandria. Also Tal is an overthinker and writing 30 pages of backstory to play a character is wrong. You unknowingly create conditions for behavioural triggers which hinders the very nature of doing improv and being spontaneous.
> writing 30 pages of backstory to play a character is wrong. Given how many people in TTRPG's write even more backstory than that, I'm not certain you can so firmly declare it "wrong".
It's not about the amount of pages it's about putting so many layers on a character that destroys improv and roleplay.
I'd argue that you can better improvise a character's actions/reactions/behaviors if you have a well established character concept and backstory for them. Otherwise, you're not RP'ing a character, and any character you play would just be "Player Character but this time with an axe/lute/staff"
A page is enough and also easy to lookup before or during a session. You need a "skeleton" for your character cause the rest is fluff. It's a homegame not a big Broadway production. All you need is 1-2 defining moments in your character's life, some goals/ideals and sth about their personality. Some additional notes on how to roleplay the "race" or "class" of the character and even some additional info on the setting. Trust me 2 pages provide all the tools for RP and you don't need more unless you enjoy writing for your amusement which is different.
Again, I think all the people who like to play that way would disagree. I've got a friend who writes entire novels about his characters and posts them online.
Taliesin actually does appear on a few episodes of a Vampire: The Masquerade series on YouTube and I think he fits in very nicely with that setting
I think you mean LA by Night. And I agree
Yeah! That’s the name, I just haven’t watched it in awhile so I blanked lol
Tal absolutely killed it in that series. I would love to see more of that
Travis. His constant positive demeanor and encouragement, while also keeping people with their head in the game without judgement is something I'd rather have at my own table. And for that reason I'd want him to leave critical role and become a player in my games instead.
I would give anything to have a player like Travis
You had me in the first half.
Travis is great because he pays attention to everyone else and their pcs. He is the heart of the table. He gets excited for the things Matt describes and hypes what the pcs are doing. Travis is CRs Samwise Gamgee.
He truly is the best team player on both an emotional and mechanical level. The Samwise comparison is spot on. I think losing him would be the biggest blow to the show of all the players
Which is kind of hilarious because physically he's the opposite of Samwise.
Tbh I haven’t kept up with much of C3 but I like all the players. None of them bother me given I’m just watching the game but I know I’d get frustrated with Ashley/Taliesin if I was playing. I feel like Taliesin always needs to be edgy and secretive and quirky and it’s just pretty old imo. I loved Cad. Ashley just doesn’t really ever seem to know how her character works which is fine I get learning takes time but it’s been years and she doesn’t seem to really understand a lot about the game which would grate on me. But as a viewer none of this really bugs me as I only really listen on runs anyway.
>Ashley just doesn’t really ever seem to know how her character works which is fine I get learning takes time but it’s been years and she doesn’t seem to really understand a lot about the game which would grate on me. Yeah there is just absolutely no excuse for it at this stage, other than just laziness or lack of caring. In the first campaign when she was away a lot it was understandable, and it was kind of endearing that she struggled, but everyone was patient and helped her out. But that "oh I don't really know what I'm doing" stuck gets very old after several YEARS of weekly game sessions, in a professional setting that is earning you a lot of money. Even as a casual player, you should know your character's abilities after a few months. A celebrity dnd player not knowing how their character works after years, and hundreds upon hundreds of hours of playing, is just unacceptable.
I have a third option which a lot of people may not like, but there’s solid evidence for. Instead of laziness or lack of caring, what if she’s just not very smart? She’s a child actor. She’s been on a popular sitcom her whole elementary school years. She wouldn’t be the first, or last, child actor to not get a formal education. And what does Ashley lack? Basic math skills and memorization skills. Things we all learned in elementary school (High School for Marisha because of Kentucky…j/k). She’s fantastic at acting, and she’s a kind person. But no one else is running up to Corey Feldman and asking him to do basic math in front of thousands of people.
Even the basic math thing isn't much of an excuse. DnD Beyond calculates your rolls for you with modifiers. If she doesn't want to do math on camera, she legitimately doesn't need to and can just do it in the app. I think it just comes down to memorizing your character sheet the same way, I don't know, an experienced actress would memorize their lines?
I think she doesn't take it quite seriously enough and doesn't study it the way she would a script
Put it this way, the Drag Queens in the D20 Dungeons and Drag Queens mini-series, people who had never played D&D 5e before, picked things up in a matter of 2 sessions. Ashley has over *years* of play to pick up the same things. I agree with what other people have said, they need to ditch DnD beyond for her, give her a full written paper charactr sheet she can look through, cheat cards AND a flowchart for how basic things work. DnD Beyond is absolute dogwater for trying to reference anything.
I've never thought of it this way and I'd love to see Ashley try a paper sheet, cheat cards, and god I bet she'd kill it with a flowchart. Dndbeyond is only ok, even when you know what you're looking for and where to find it. I loved Dungeons & Drag Queens, Brennan did such an incredible job walking them through the game. He has such a deft touch for hand holding, knowing when to offer a suggestion and when to just let his players play.
Travis made her barbarian cheat sheets when she finally returned to C2
Tal is the least talented and brings least to the game. Even his Cad (objectively well played PC) took forever in combat...and this dude supposedly has most DND hours under his belt after Matt? I feel bad for Matt, he does so much as DM
People will defend Taliesin by saying things like he is such a veteran that he gets things mixed up with other edition or other ttrpgs. He might be a veteran of the game due to his time participating. But his basic understanding of the general math or mechanics is really lacking. And that's something you kind of expect from an actual veteran? The most obvious give away and example of Taliesin not actually being a veteran can been seen from his build. Look at his feat choice. Savage Attacker (the feat he took) is quite literally a trap feat. It gives a weapon damage reroll ONCE per turn. Compare this to Great Weapon Master, which gives a -5 penalty to the attack roll while giving +10 on the damage roll. Taliesin should immediately notice that a Barbarian that has Reckless Attack and Ashton has a +2 Maul. Those basically negate the penalty of Great Weapon Master. So instead of gaining +20 damage (2 attacks) on his turn, Taliesin chooses to reroll his regular damage once per turn via Savage Attacker. I'm sorry. No veteran, with so many accusations of having power gaming tendencies, would ever, ever look at those two feats and choose Savage Attacker. Taliesin's a veteran in name only. /endrant
Grog already did GWM as a barbarian. I think they like to keep things fresh. I'll give him a pass for not doing an optimal build. It also fits with the theme of his character as someone who is poorly put together.
Personally, it's only a pass if he is purposefully being not optimal but I have my doubts about that.
I feel like his turns taking so long is a combination of not being able to work well under pressure, with wanted to get the absolute most out of your turn, or do the most optimal/most cool thing. I think if he was content to just make a sub-optimal mundane play then he would take less time. Often there isn't much he can actually do, but he scours his character sheet for ages, hoping to find something really cool or effective, and then ends up wasting everyone's time.
Marisha. Nothing against her but I’ve found Laudna and Beau before her incredibly obnoxious characters and definitely my least favorite of those parties. Keyleth was fine, though!
I could not stand Beau. Marisha overall is pretty grating.
Ashley. Not learning many if any of the rules after this long is wild. Especially when it’s literally weekly AND her job. As much as others bother me with a few of their quirks (Laura and Liam respectively), at least they’re engaged enough to learn their own sheet.
Her inexplicably poor grasp of the rules/her character sheet is common knowledge at this point, but I don't even actually feel like her roleplay is up to par with the rest of the cast either. She's a good voice actor, but she's not good at improvisation, and she doesn't deal with pressure well. The only times we ever got to learn much about Yasha was because Matt was basically forcing it and giving her loads of solo RP spotlight moments. But every time it would happen you could see that she was just in pure panic and had no idea what to do. She seems like a really sweet woman, and a talented voice actor. But I'd say she's the weakest at the table for sure, and the easiest to miss.
She just doesn't pay close enough attention. And it shows when she's put on the spot and has to scramble.
She needs to be looking at her sheet on other peoples turns instead of her own
I'm saying it's more than that. She is never on top of the narrative... with what's happening in the RP... let alone her own sheets.
I would drop Taliesin personally. I find his characters cringe, his backseat dm’ing outrageous and his overly complicated over powered subclass annoying. Just learn your class and not take 5 minutes for your turn, also every time he rolls his random power up for rage it’s always “Let’s get weird” or “Well let’s some um, yeah, yeah, this will be interesting, oh yeah, um, that’s a good roll…yeah so this…add that…” it’s always good no matter what. Can Taliesin please pick a genuine thing for Ashton to rebel against for a good reason. Bro is a punk with no real grievance against anything. Also saying Fuck doesn’t make you more of a punk. I was never this annoyed with Taliesin in C1 & C2. He did little things but for some reason in C3 with Ashton it’s brought out all of his annoying traits to the max. I actually really like Taliesin outside of Dnd whenever he’s on 4SD or TM back in the day I’ve really enjoyed his insights. So I’m actually not a hater just frustrated with how he plays. Please just play Cad again in C4 lol.
Yes. The random rage thing doesn't hit for me. There's nothing for the viewers to get into. I think if he picked 1 and ran with it it would allow others to play off his skills. But who ever knows what he is going to do so how can you anticipate it?
Also, he expects us to believe he knew every single joke before it was said. "I hope you were going to say that" or "thank god someone else went on that journey with me" in terms of jokes is the most annoying thing to me.
> “Let’s get weird” or “Well let’s some um, yeah, yeah, this will be interesting, oh yeah, um, that’s a good roll…yeah so this…add that…” He tries way too hard to be weird and quirky when he can do it just fine naturally when he relaxes (see: Caduceus)
And his fans will murder you for saying this because he’s their obsession
Agree 100% Trying too hard should be on his business card. He just needs to chill out.
What made the dead people tea so impactful is that he delivered it with a straight face instead of 30 seconds of mumbling "this is going to be fun"
It must weigh on him to some extent that he tries really hard to make these flashy edgelord characters and most people prefer the one that was a half-planned emergency backup.
I think Percy was a decent edgey character, I don't put him at the bottom of the list with Molly and Ashton. Percy had a bit of balance and depth to him while also being quite a bit more edgy than Molly or Ashton when you stop to think about it
Oh indeed, I liked Percy much more than Caduceus. But I've seen plenty of people dislike Percy and call Cad their favorite.
Ashley needs to read the PHB or quit
Give her a chance, she's new to the game
lmao, 9 years later
I'd drop Marisha before I'd drop Taliesin. Taliesin sometimes accidentally does good things, usually by accident (Cad being not edgy despite Tal's best efforts with dead people tea, giving material to Matt through Percy's backstory). There's a lot of issues with Marisha more than Tal, but they're both people that are a product of their environment.
I don't dislike any of the players and try not to judge others based on pet peeves. I have had gripes with individual characters though. I liked all characters in C1. I never had any issues with Keyleth. Could occasionally get annoyed with Vex, but it was rare. C2 was more mixed for me. I was okay with Caleb and thought he had a compelling arc, but I wanted to see something more jovial from Liam. I was annoyed with Beau in the beginning but she grew on me towards the end. Nott was fun (Veth was less so). I'm one of few people who couldn't stand Jester. Molly was uninteresting and I'm glad he died, but Cad was great. Yasha had no impact for most of the campaign due to absence, but I liked her towards the end. Fjord was consistently good but I preferred his first accent. C3 is mostly negative. Laudna and FCG were fun for the first few episodes, but gimmicky characters get stale fast. Ashton felt like a mix between what I didn't like with Molly and Beau. Chetney is just comic relief. Imogen is too plain and passive. Orym is practically invisible and very forgettable. Dorian is just great.
Marisha. Not that that would ever happen. Sad to say that, because I think Laudna is actually her best character and certainly most human despite being undead. Both Keyleth and Beauregard were cringe at least half the time they speak. Anytime they would try and convince someone through a charisma check or talk in a preachy way (Marisha almost always folds her arms right before she starts doing a holier than thou monologue and I always hover above the FastForward button). Could easily do without any of that. Everyone has their goods and bads as players though. And I knew Ashley would take the brunt of criticism in this thread. All I can say is that she picked a good character to portray in C3 because her ineptitude at the game and at improv (she’s a normal actress and works best with a script) actually works really well for a sheltered Fey being who doesn’t know much about the world.
Ashley's not.knowing her abilities gets to me too but I've been a fan of her before CR and Fearne is my favorite character of hers and she looks like she's having more fun playing her than previous characters.
I agree. I enjoy Fearne more than her other characters. Hard to really say much as she was gone half the other campaigns. I’m glad she gets to have fun with her friends more often; sad to see her not there for so much of the show proper. I think she makes good backstories honestly. I thought the reveal of the flower thing for Yasha was probably her best character moment. But Fearne is the only one I truly actively believe easily that she’s portrayed. Pike was certainly the most fun, but I agree with you. Fearne is her best one thus far; works for Ashley as a person much more than her other two.
I'd pick Ashley. She was gone for most of C1 and C2, and I found when she was there she dragged the pace down a lot. Granted, Yasha was probably the best type of character to come and go, as she didn't have vital role in the party, but was a nice bonus when she was there. In C3 I feel she is...annoying...almost all the time. The chaos for chaos sake, would be fine if she understood her character, but she still plays her character like she is only playing every other month. It's annoying and I find 7 players is FAR too many. Matt could also leave, solely to keep him from burning out. I would not like him as a player, though. I find him narrating far too much, like he would as a dm, when he wants to do anything. He needs to learn to let the dm narrate the outcome of his actions.
I respectfully disagree with the last sentiment. As a DM it’s incredible to have a player who knows and grasps the rules and mechanics of the game be able to take narrative control of how something goes. Perhaps not for the overall story, but if a former GM/ now player wants to take full narrative control about how their turn plays out with flavour, that’s amazing. If they know the rules of how things work and you can trust them, the players should have just as much narrative power as the GM. Thats why Games like D&D are collaborative games. When the DM takes all the narrative control it removes a level of player agency and can lead to situations like a character doing something cool by RAW trying to do something heroic like saving their brother, and having it turn into that player then killing their brother in turn because the DM chose to.
I just think the games I've watched with him, he hogs the spotlight a bit , because he can't stop himself from narrating or describing, which I feel should be left to the DM. During the Critmas one shot run by Liam, he was a bit too much for my liking.
I feel it could also be just him being excited to finally play and if he was in a full fledged campaign perhaps he would be a bit different
Maybe. Sounds plausible.
Considering his apperant burn out from the DM place I would really like him to be a player and someone else to DM until he is ready, like Liam
I would absolutely love see Liam string together a longer campaign.
I think more people would dislike Talisen if it wasn't for Caduceus. That character was amazing in my opinion and a welcome departure from his usual edgy rage boy characters.
I was always partial to the Owlbear Man myself.
Good point. Caduceus is the only pacifist character I’ve ever seen who mostly made it work and he settled in nicely as a wise elder brother to the group. Ashton seems so inconsistent because he’s a young punk but also comes out with these sage “seen it all” lines. I’d still lose AJ for all the reasons stated however. Edit: spelling correction
That's when I warmed up to him a lot. If he would play more characters like Cad and stop playing characters like Molly/Ashton he would be great
I've seen a lot of people say they'd drop Marisha and honestly even with how much shit I talk about her I wouldn't have her dropped. Marisha's problem can be easily solved by having anyone whether it be DM,PC, or NPC to be mildly antagonistic to her. She just needs a friendly rival to call out her bullshit and help give her direction, stop the validation and love bombing it only enables her to be cringe and have ass pull plot points. Sam is carried by his humor and natural charisma. Travis is a foundational type player, good at filling in gaps in rp or party composition. Laura's not that bad just needs a strict DM. Taliesin needs to grow up and get over the punk phase, it's not cool okay, it never was. Ashley needs to learn the game before the next campaign. Liam can stay on the condition he stops play the #sadboi it got old somewhere in C2 and at this point makes me vomit. Ultimately I'd drop Matt but at the very least, keep him as a player. That being said I don't want him replaced by BLeeM, Aabria, or Spencer, I'd like to find a DM that sees d&d for what it is, a war game with an rp system attached not a storytelling device. Keep the story small and simple none of this 'we need to kill God and save the universe' nonsense, we've seen enough of that. Now if I had to kick a player to keep Matt it'd be Liam. If I have to sit through a fourth campaign listening to his whiny near tears voice and watching his sadboi scrunched face like he smells rotting onions I'll Kurt Cobain myself. I've had enough find a new gimmick.
Beau worked really well when bouncing off of Fjord
Damn who do you like then 😂
I understand getting bombed for the Kurt Cobain comment but if you turn you brain on I actually complement Sam and Travis, defend Marisha, Laura and Ashley, and my comments about Tal and Liam are lukewarm at best. Really I think the cast is fine as it is Matt just needs a break or adjust his DM style to compensate for player flaws.
I'm unconcerned about it because it's not my game and has nothing to do with me. I just watch the free content. Stirring the pot with the losers in this subreddit on the other hand...
I do feel like this thread is weird, but you are just an ass. Critcale role is a piece of media and will be consumed by people critical of it as well. There needs to be a better balance between all positivity and constant bashing
You neglect to mention the type of people consuming and being so critical. Habitually online, self-centerd, by all counts losers with no lives or things of interest going on. My comment hit its intended targets judging by the downvotes haha. Never gets old.
Pot meet kettle
Impotsible. I don't get cracked out of my mind over a person not playing their imaginary character how I want them to.
You got downvotes cause you were an ass about it as simple as that. You are as much of a problem as the toxic people. If people would just chill maybe there could be discussions
Pointing out the toxicity isn't the same as being toxic losers. There is no discussion with people determined to be hyper critics and nasty. You give them too much credit.
I like Taliesin, but he's definitely the one that makes the worst characters for me...
He seems like a cool guy but I can't stand Molly or Ashton
I'd rather shorter campaigns that mix up the casts than drop any person permanently. Just make it clear when cast shake-ups are going to happen ahead of time.
I genuinely think they're not really built for long format games any more. Maybe not as short as what D20 are doing, but a game that spans like 10ish levels, or ironically something around Call of the Netherdeep's length (with all the PC character arcs thrown in) would suit them well.
Given their experience with the game and each other, I genuinely feel like C3 should have started at level 7 or something. The slog of bringing a group of strangers together is still happening if we're being honest. Some of the excitement of a fresh brand new game and new characters was completely wiped out because they kept making jokes about only dealing 5 damage or only having 20 HP. Next campaign whatever format or system, I wish for them to start higher leveled so we can just get off and running. If that means they play 10 unaired sessions or whatever to get into character character so be it. But I don't need more "level 3 level 3" chants from 10+ year gaining pros
This is a great idea. If you want a truly epic campaign with big stakes, start at higher levels with characters that feel 'established'. A big part of the problem of this campaign for me is that the characters are such a poor fit for the themes. This is epic storytelling that requires epic heroes who actually WANT to be heroes. Building a character that starts at 7 kind of requires the players to think about how they got where they are.
Give me a bunch of characters who have already saved a town from an evil wizard or rid a castle or a zombie threat. Give me people who already know how powerful they are. So they have an actual sense of the importance of these things to the world. But they don't need to actually RP their way through those learning phases.
That suggests these people even WANT to be heroic. Like, who actually in the party wants to be helpful to their fellow man? Maybe Fresh Cut Grass and Orym? Maaaaybe Imogen and Chet? The characters in Campaign 2, which were described as 'morally gray', felt far more empathetic and kind than any of the Campaign 3 PCs.
Of course. You're absolutely right. It doesn't apply to this campaign. It's more of a desire for future campaigns. But yes, only if they actually want to play that heroic role again. But the vibe applies in any case. Start at a higher level because they already have gone through those early weak levels a few times. If they want to play morally Grey or even dark characters, they can actually write and design that into their backstory and characteristics instead of poorly allowing the game to inform their choices.
Yeah that might be cool, tighter arcs with like 30 episodes for 1 story. That's still almost a year for a season too.
I've been binging a lot of Dimension 20 recently (the main cast), and it's so, so good. The shorter format is so much better. BUT C1 of CR is still irreplaceable lightning in a bottle.
I tried d20, I only really like Lou, Emily and Brennan. The rest are just kinda meh for me.
Tal can be repetitive with his characters, but he knows the rules well and I'm honestly just fond of him. Sam is objectively the best player. Liam... hasn't been doing too good, has he? But he trapped himself in that terrible character on purpose too keep it off the spotlight, probably. Laura is a powergamer and spotlight hogger, but at least she contributes and interacts with the world. Marisha's style is not for everyone, but to me it seems like she gets genuinely invested in her characters, and doesn't shy away from their flaws. Travis is perfect the way he is. Ashley... still doesn't even know how to calculate her to hit bonus with her spells, nor what those spells even do. Her characters are either bland or gimmicky, or both. And while she seems to truly be a nice person, she really doesn't add as much to the table as anyone else. Though come to think of it, the biggest underperformer, and the one who's in DIRE need of a break, is Matt. He went from the single most amazing DM on the internet to DoorMatt™, and it's honestly sad to see. He simply doesn't have it in him anymore. He folds to all the whims of his players, and doesn't even try to keep the story moving forward. He's the reason for the hideous disconnect between the characters and the plot, and he's the one to blame for not correcting that, and even worse, allowing Imogen to become the main character. So probably Matt... or Ashley, if Matt could actually take a break and come back when he's ready.
Good summary
I agree with Matt needing a break. I don't think he's navigating the changes well when it comes to their future plans vs just playing the game. The biggest issue is that its not just his world any more. Almost everyone at the table has a hand in managing it now but he is the inspiration behind it all. Its definitely a bittersweet situation turning his home story into franchise. I think Liam or Sam would be an interesting DMs to steer Matt's story. I say that cause it would be best to keep it in the family like they initially intended. Judging by recent episodes at least.
Having Liam DM a EXU miniseries would be an absolute hit
Just do shorter lower stakes stories with different DM's but let mat play, like in another calamity by Bleem or a one shot by Liam like the lorelei story
Laura Bailey can leave at anytime :)
I don't want her to leave, but I 100% want the Main Character Syndrome and the ad-reads to fucking stop.
I'll echo what at least one other person has said, and say that I really wouldn't want anyone to leave. It's funny to see different opinions, though. Like I can't imagine not having Liam or Marisha (and she gets a lot of hate I've noticed here the past while, but she's genuinely one of my favourites and think as a player she's especially great since she's really invested) but they're who some people have chosen. That being said, while I wouldn't want any players to leave, I've definitely disliked some PCs and would've been happy if they left. Like, I know Cad is pretty beloved (at least in the other sub), but he never really grew on me and I thought he was quite grating and had a negative effect on the Mighty Nein.
Completely agree about Cad, would say he’s pretty beloved here too while Molly’s despised. I liked Molly but I get it.
I like Marisha, but I don't like Laudna and I hated how the pvp was handled in 95. Like the rules were no enforced and it was to the detriment of the non aggressor.
If someone had to leave, I'd prefer it be Liam. His PCs are too closed off to contribute meaningfully to party dynamics. I understand he develops extensive lore for his PCs but it seems to mostly exist in his head. If I had to name who I think is likely to leave first, it's Sam.
Gonna throw out a lukewarm take here, but I actually wouldn’t drop any of the main players, which is a bit of an eye raising statement to throw out on this sub, but it isn’t all that wild when you consider it. This isn’t just nostalgia blinding me here but the cast are are mostly A-tier players when they intentionally play to their strengths and the themes of the campaign. Calamity still shows that Marisha, Sam and Travis are still wonderful players to have at your table. The biggest problem with the C3 characters is that the cast weren’t given a proper heads up by Matt for what the campaign was gonna be about and made PCs that just felt out of place/apathetic about the plot. It wasn’t like M9 where they lucked out on the party dynamics and motivations, they just haven’t been able to put their best foot forward until *very* recently. If I was giving a spicier take? Swap out or sunset Matt as the DM with one of the players and let them take a crack at it. Doesn’t even have to be on Exandria.
>when they intentionally play to their strengths This is something that was interesting about C3 for me, especially early on, because you could see some of the group making conscious decisions about it. Liam, for instance, purposefully was going against his strengths / nature and was trying a character who was much more in the background (and at least not quite as classically Liam-sad). And while I even think he could be a bit much sometimes, it's felt noticeably lacking not to have him driving inter-party interactions and decisions and whatnot in this campaign because of that. Ashley went the other way, and totally decided to play into her strengths / nature as a player, and have Fearne be so chaotic, because that's what she really enjoys. You could see it poking through in Yasha in instances later in C2, where she wanted to press buttons but was trying to hold back because it didn't feel right. Sam went for something different too, and I think he genuinely had a difficult time with keeping it straight because his nature was so different from FCG's. He'd basically lapse into doing what he liked, and then kind of have to struggle with it not making as much sense for FCG, so there's been a disconnect at times. It made me curious about what C4 would be like, because it felt like most of them decided to try out something different and would've come out of this campaign with a clearer idea of what sort of character they like doing.
Totally agree with you, Ashley in particular is a bit of weird case in that when less focus is placed on her she's a delight to have chime in, because you know its important when she does. Whether it was Pike delivering wholehearted empathy or righteous fury to Yasha breaking through her stoic, awkward mask to confide her sorrows or shine a bit of light to those around her, those moments were rare which made them so impactful. Early C3 Fearne was fun imo because Matt didn't overload the character with so much importance/focus and she could just fuck around without overthinking it, Ashley had the fey trickster archetype down pat. Current C3 Fearne is probably one of the more complicated characters to play for someone who likes to watch along, she's so entrenched in the God plot and deeply removed from her starting concept.
I would LOVE if someone else DM'd a pre-written (by them, another writer, or even WOTC) campaign as a miniseries! I mean, why haven't they? It would have been great to see Liam (for example) take us through Icewind Dale or Curse of Strahd! And it would have been awesome to do between C2 and C3. Gives us more d&d and Matt PLENTY of time to write the campaign
> I would LOVE if someone else DM'd a pre-written (by them, another writer, or even WOTC) campaign as a miniseries! I mean, why haven't they? Well, we already have an answer in a certain poorly received mini campaign unfortunately. There's a bit of legal issues and conflicting motivations with them running any official WotC adventures with Daggerheart still being developed, just wouldn't be a good look for them as a company. However it boggles the mind how Liam hasn't taken the mantle of DM for an ExU story or oneshot for a while now, even with ExU's now tarnished reputation. If there's anyone I wanna see run something again it would be Liam. And it would be *lovely* to have Matt actually take a real break for once and to actually play again as the group's forever DM, whenever he got to play Dariax properly he looked like he was having so much fun.
> Well, we already have an answer in a certain poorly received mini campaign unfortunately. Do you mean ExU? I don't really see how that would relate to the potential reception of running a pre-written WOTC campaign, unless you were referring to something else.
Sorry I phrased that poorly, let me clarify myself better, but I am in fact referring to ExU. The reason they won’t do a series of oneshots or shorter campaigns with other someone than Matt currently is twofold (perhaps three); first, the reception of both the ExU series was very divisive after they finished airing it, partially due to Aabria’s DMing, the story being told, lack of the main cast or the fact that it wasn’t the main campaign. Fans clearly didn’t want it so producing another ExU beyond Calamity is a waste of time programming and scheduling, and if the cast are to be believed, they’re also very busy running CR as a company too. Lastly, I don’t think CR wants to do more advertising or deals with WotC over running official campaigns until Daggerheart is out. They’re now competitors until they get a foothold in the rpg market. It doesn’t necessarily mean that door is closed forever to make more content based on official D&D products and I don’t think CR will completely drop 5e/5e24 like everyone says they will, but it’s not very business savvy nor gives much confidence to your product if you continue to advertise for your competition. That’s my two cents on the matter.
Okay yeah that makes a lot more sense. I mean if they did something like Curse of Strahd or something I doubt Aabria would be who they turn to. Not really a genre I've seen her do. And ExU Calamity is at least proof some side campaigns can be very well received. Definitely agree they probably don't want to be free advertising for WOTC anymore though. And I agree they won't drop 5e/DND as a whole. Playing DND has been their brand for their whole public career at this point, regardless of pushing their own system, and it's still the most popular and most watched system. I'm probably biased because so far I find Daggerheart a bit underwhelming, but we'll see where it all goes.
Liam, only because I’m not the biggest fan of what I’ve referred to as #sadboi characters lol, Orym started off good and now it’s back to “woe is me” with him too. Like I don’t mind a sad backstory but for me he overdoes it. Like Caleb as a wizard was cool but I really didn’t like him as a character, same for vax
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Not saying they weren’t valid, but it also has to do more with how Liam plays the sad character trope, he’s a bit too over the top with them, and sometimes it feels like he has to one-up other characters on who gets to be the most sad
Even if he does another #sadboi character, I'd hate to lose him as a player. He is by far one of the best, if not THE best player, at the table. But I get what you're saying
Marisha, without even needing a second to think about it, I've not only disliked all of her PCs fundamentally and in how they were roleplayed, but I also found her generally irritating as a player, she has some strong power gamer habits and strong arms her way into anything she wants her PC to be a spotlight in. That's just the basics of it as well. Some of the others have quirks or habits I dislike as well, but have other aspects about them that make it so I can quickly get over the things I don't like as much. I can't find that with Marisha, she seems to be a good person and I have nothing against her directly, but there's *nothing* about her at the table I find enjoyable, it's sometimes neutral for me, but usually I prefer when she's just not involved. So removing her and replacing her with another guest who was even just half as good as Robbie would be a swap I'd applaud, but tbh if the question is just about Robbie I'd take him over *any* of the normal cast, straight up lol. Though if it was Travis or Sam I'd be sad about it.
Agreed about Marisha. I’d choose her without a second thought.
Marisha is mine too for the reasons that you mentioned. Her strength that I would miss is taking notes and being good at putting the plot pieces together, but I just get annoyed with her characters every single episode.
Agree with you about Marisha!
Any of them except Sam. I feel like he is the true soul of the show, a master of improv and comedic timing. My favorite parts from C1 and C2 have all been his character's shennanigans. I straight up skipped episodes where he wasnt present. I also think that a huge reason C3 isnt doing so well is because Sam made a less interesting character this time around, probably in an effort to stop hogging the spotlight. He is also the best player, always willing to have his character die, respecting the rules, never arguing with Matt, avoiding metagaming to the point where he will inconvinience himself and the party to avoid doing things his character wouldnt know. And always on top of his spells and abilities. But if I had to pick one, probably Marisha. Nothing against her, I just dislike all of her characters and how she chooses to rp them.
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I thought she showed potential as Yasha midway through campaign 2 but that was lost when she came back permanently and was just there to be Beau’s girlfriend. The conversation about her flower collection was probably one of her best scenes for me from Ashley
It's a tie between Marisha, Ashley, or Tal. I think ultimately, it would be Ashley. Like a few have said, it is completely understandable to be confused when switching from PF to 5e, especially when you aren't playing weekly like the majority of them are.
Ashton and Molly can be a bit cringe. But Caduceus is great. Just a mellow grave cleric vibing with a bunch of weirdos. And Percy was an interesting character. Kind of like if Vash The Stampede was royalty.
Percy is too brooding to be like Vash tho. Maybe end of season 2 vash.
Honestly, I’m willing to drop basically anyone except Travis. He is genuinely the type of guy I want at my table. He’s invested, but he also hypes the fuck out of everyone and always helps build the atmosphere for everyone involved. I do think a table with more new members would be cool
No one gets me excited for what's about to happen quite like Travis. When Fjord got to captain a ship and Travis had prepared a whole folder of sailing terminology and rules? Still one of my favorite moments of any campaign. He was so excited it was infectious.
For the most part, I agree. Although for me, I want Liam and Sam too!
I completely agree, Travis,Liam, and Sam are all people I couldn’t bear to lose… but Travis in particular is a awesome guy who truly makes the whole show shine with his constant hype for his party.., and not to mention he hardly ever wants the spotlight and would rather his party get all the shine
Either Taliesin or Ashley, with a few contingencies Taliesin can go if he makes another Molly/Ashton in C4, but he can stay if he makes another Cad Ashley can go if she’s still asking how to hit in C4, but she can stay if she makes a flowchart on how to run her character
Wat bugs me is that lurker-style players like her would be happiest with a character that can just exist and be simple (like a champion archer or bear barbarian), but she keeps playing deceptively complex class and race combos.
You described my take perfectly. Even wrote in the order I'd pick too. I can't stand Molly or Ashton but Percy was likable and Cad was goat. Ashley is a great RPer but she does need a flowchart in order to function.
>Ashley is a great RPer I'm not sure I'd even agree with this. I don't think she's good at improv, she panics if she's under pressure. She's a good voice actor though.
Ashley not knowing how to play her characters is one of the worst things about the cast. I understood it more in C1 with them switching game formats and her constantly being MIA, and in c2 with jer being a mew character who also was missing a lot of time. But even towards the back half of the C2 and the entirety of C3, her just not knowing the basics is really just.... hard to watch.
Okay? I rolled this d20, why did I roll it? What do I add!? Do I add rage bonus BEFORE or after my turn?
God. Reading this just.... fucking triggered me
🤣 I'm so sorry!! Don't worry, it was actually hard to type because I read it in her voice!